Member Info for OWLS

Good week for TW. I have listened to rumours of takeover of ITV for years but nothing has ever happened. Having said that the UK stock market is now very cheap compared to the US market so there could be a fair bit of takeover activity in the near future, I must admit I have benefitted from takeovers of ACA, ISAT and LMI over the last few months.

Apologies Bernado, I was referring to Denby69's posts.

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make.

DENBY69, your short doesn't look so good today ! Already down 7%, ouch !

However, well done on your MTRO short, oops my mistake you bought them, oh dear !

I am a life-ling labour supporter but Boris is the only one who is prepared to take us out as per the referendum. I voted leave and I am happy to leave with a no deal given the EU's intransigence. We can then spend the £39b on ourselves.

I have bought today based on good positive momentum.
Good to have an investment in an industry I understand and also contribute to !

Very quiet BB which is usually good news.

I've bought today based on positive momentum.

Time to cut my losses after a 31% loss. I invested 12 months ago based on positive momentum but that momentum has long since gone.

I assume you are down on your current short.

Perhaps you should have shorted Micro Focus, this looks a better option. Oh no I see that last week you said "Great value at this price - great value!" when it was £15.77, it has since fallen 31% to £10.88.

I don't think I'll pay to much attention to your comments.

Nige,
The market doesn't get it right or wrong, it is simply the aggregate view of all who invest. The fact the price is less than you believe it should be is immaterial, investors obviously have less faith in builders than you do.

I would view with extreme suspicion any share that offers a dividend yield over 7%.

Let's hope so. Significantly down on this at the moment but I've made big profits previously so I can't complain. When it goes up it goes up quickly but seems in a downward spiral at the moment.

Did you not say the same thing a couple of weeks ago when it was 220p ?

I recall you and members calling me a muppet and a moron for selling at the bottom (75p). Don't think I ever got an apology,.

Usually high dividends indicate there could be problems. I wouldn't invest until this is showing some positive momentum.

Personally I wouldn't touch a share that has fallen from £40 to £3, it may recover but looks very high risk. Shares with negative momentum often continue to fall and Metro certainly has negative momentum. Falling deposits, dropping interest margin and the need to sell a £521m loan portfolio to shore up liquidity certainly don't shout buy to me.

Ben, agree that 18% is a good margin, I used to work in the food industry and our target was 5%. The trouble is if the margin is declining then the share price will also decline.
I'm surprised you haven't had a pay rise, I assume you are not in a union. I would have thought that with a labour skills shortage, you would be in a position of strength to negotiate a good deal.
I believe that material inflation was given as a reason, I'm not sure what percentage of sales value is the cost of materials.

BEURUMPSON,
The price is not stupid, as I have mentioned before price growth is slowing and build cost inflation is increasing so margins are falling. The price is up 20% since last December + the dividend so it hasn't had a bad run.

I think builders are risky at the moment, the high yields are a warning sign. Margins have probably hit their peak, fuelled by help to buy. Price growth is slowing down but build cost inflation is increasing. I have about 2% of my portfolio in builders but wouldn't want more.

OK, a bit tenuous and don't think a 20k purchase will have much of an impact but it all helps I suppose. Hope it's a wise investment.